title: Egg freezing: a breakthrough for reproductive autonomy?
abstract: This article describes the relatively new technology of freezing human eggs and examines whether egg freezing, specifically when it is used by healthy women as 'insurance' against age-related infertility, is a legitimate exercise of reproductive autonomy. Although egg freezing has the potential to expand women's reproductive options and thus may represent a breakthrough for reproductive autonomy, I argue that without adequate information about likely outcomes and risks, women may be choosing to freeze their eggs in a commercially exploitative context, thus undermining rather than expanding reproductive autonomy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Philosophy and Religion and Women's and Gender Studies at North Carolina State University, North Carolina 27695-8103, USA. karey_harwood@ncsu.edu
authors.forename: Karey
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Harwood
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002755:Choice Behavior; D032821:Commodification; D015925:Cryopreservation / Q000941:ethics*; D006801:Humans; D008389:Marketing of Health Services / Q000941:ethics; D008423:Maternal Age; D054315:Oocyte Retrieval / Q000941:ethics* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000523:psychology; D026706:Paternalism; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D046269:Reproductive Rights / Q000941:ethics* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000523:psychology; D013673:Technology Assessment, Biomedical; D014481:United States